Heavy crude discount widens for third straight day

Canadian heavy crude’s differential to benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude widened on Thursday for a third straight day.

Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for March delivery in Hardisty, Alberta, was trading at $13.65 per barrel below the WTI benchmark, according to NE2 Canada Inc, having settled at $13.35 per barrel below the U.S. crude benchmark on Wednesday.

Midwest refinery turnarounds are reducing seasonal demand for Canadian heavy barrels, widening the heavy differential, an industry source said.

Light synthetic crude from the oil sands traded at $1.25 per barrel over WTI, unchanged from the previous settle.

Global oil prices surged in late-day trading, sending the U.S. crude benchmark through $90 a barrel for the first time since 2014 due to ongoing supply worries and as frigid weather cascades across the United States.